Updated 11:44 pm, Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Warriors David Lee (left), Stephen Curry and Jarrett Jack all contributed in a 103-96 win over the Hornets.

Warriors David Lee (left), Stephen Curry and Jarrett Jack all contributed in a 103-96 win over the Hornets.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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New Chronicle sports columnist Ann Killion in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, September 14, 2012.

New Chronicle sports columnist Ann Killion in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, September 14, 2012.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

New Warriors and a new energy in Oakland

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The Andrew Bogut bobblehead giveaway was scheduled long before Tuesday's game. Long before it became clear that the Warriors' prized center would not play for most, if any, of December. Long before his microfracture surgery became public.

And long before the Warriors became a winning team without Bogut.

The bobbleheads - which, incidentally, did not come with an accessory walking boot - could have been a sore point with the faithful fans at Oracle Arena. If the Warriors had arrived home from a customary, miserable road trip and greeted their customers with giveaway dolls of a player representing the latest franchise trade-gone-wrong, there might have been mutiny,

That's not the way it worked out. The fans took their toys, observed the big Australian sitting in street clothes on the bench and happily settled in to cheer for a team that might, finally, deserve their unwavering devotion.

"We're excited to be on a roll, and we want to keep it up here at home for our fans," said forward David Lee.

The Warriors kept rolling. When they arrived at Oracle Arena, they were actually let in the building. The stadium security guards have a memory for faces, because on paper these Warriors are unrecognizable from the ones who have been walking through the Oracle doors for all these years.

Identification, please:

-- A team off to its best start in 21 seasons, since the 1991-92 team that made the playoffs on the heels of the Run-TMC years.

-- A team with six wins on a road trip for the first time in team history.

The new, confident Warriors, that's who, coming home with a swagger they didn't have when they walked out of Oracle on Dec. 3.

And even though they struggled in the final minutes against the lowly New Orleans Hornets, they pulled out a 103-96 win.

"I looked at my phone and I got a text from Reggie Miller," said coach Mark Jackson. "He said how impressive it was because it was our first game being back at home after success. For a young team, that could've been a setup game. But I got a different group in there."

The Warriors took care of business - barely - after a double-digit lead evaporated in the final minutes. Lee led the Warriors with 26 points and nine rebounds.

"We had a lot of confidence tonight, more confidence than in the past," Lee said. "One of the hardest games to play in NBA is the first game back at home after a road trip. ... It definitely had the possibility to be a letdown game."

Lee and point guard Stephen Curry are the core of the team, and Jackson confessed to riding them as hard as he can.

"I've been asking them to do a whole lot," Jackson said. "I'm sure they're tired. Weary."

Before the game, Jackson joked that with Curry healthy, "I can really be a better coach this year."

While the jury is still out on Jackson, in only his second season as a head coach, he clearly seems adept at the most important skill an NBA coach needs: getting players to buy in and work together. There's an easygoing chemistry on the Warriors that is all too rare in a league dominated by huge egos and individual statistics.

That chemistry between young players - four of Tuesday's starters were 24 or younger - and veterans probably wouldn't have been possible with Monta Ellis. Last spring's trade of the team's biggest star and most prolific scorer has opened up opportunities, both on the court and in the locker room.

That might have been predictable. What isn't is the Warriors being nine games above .500 without either Bogut or sixth man Brandon Rush on the floor.

"This team has a good mix," Lee said. "We go into games knowing we're a dangerous team, and we think we can compete with anyone in the NBA. But we're well-grounded. We're not cocky. We'll never give away games."

They didn't give away the Tuesday game. Later this week, they'll find out if they can beat the struggling Lakers. Even in December, putting space between themselves and a Western Conference playoff rival would be key.

With the Warriors the issue is never about the now, but about the when. Little moments of success always raise the question of sustainability. The when is late April and the playoffs.

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